Birth Control.. - Los Angeles,CA

My body doesn't respond well to the Pill. I've always used over the counter gels, foam or suppositories. They're cheap and have no side effects.

My husband and I have used natural family planing (the Creighton Model--you can Google it) for just shy of 7 years and have only had the two pregnancies we were trying for. I know that's just one person's experience with it, but it has worked for us. I had two friends who tried it with surprise pregnancies, but the first one knew she had signs of fertility but decided to have sex anyway and the other decided that it was wrong and she wasn't really fertile despite having signs of fertility and had sex.

I've been married for 14 years and we have been using the natural method - Natural Family Planning (NFP) from day 1. We have 3 kids, all 3 years apart and all of them planned. As far as I am concerned, NFP is 100% effective (when used correctly), no side effects and free. It is NOT the rhythm or calendar method (that is not effective). A woman is fertile once a month (for most) for approx a week, and in this method you get to know your body really well so your can accurately tell when the fertile period is. (Fertility clinics use similar approach to determining woman's fertility, alongside the treatments) It is also enhances the relationship in that you both learn to respect each other more and be constantly aware of how awesome human sexuality is. Your best bet is to take the classes (usually 4 once-a-week sessions) so you can be sure you are doing it correctly and have counselors to help you out in beginning. The website resource I use is www.ccli.org or you can always google "Natural Family Planning".
Good luck!

I also do not like the artificial birth controls and for almost a year now have been using the NFP (Natural Family Planning) method. This method looks at both your basal temperature (which is just taken by mouth) and your mucus. It seems like a lot to do at first but quickly it just becomes an extra minute in your daily routine. This method is 99.8% effective and classes are taught all around. I know that this is the method the San Diego Catholic Dioceses promotes so they do offer the classes. You don't have to be Catholic to attend the classes but I would definitely recommend this method!

I didn't want hormones during my first marriage and I wasn't ready to have a baby so we used condoms. It worked and if used correctly has a higher effectiveness than any other method. When I got married again I'd been taking the pill for a couple of years due to really bad menstrual cycles which I later learned was endometriosis. Now I take birth control pills consecutively meaning that I skip the placebo week and never have a period. It's GREAT not having a period and it controls my endo so that I don't have to go thru surgery right now. I did have a very hard time when I first went on the pill years ago because I wasn't even sexually active (divorced and pouting) It seemed really stupid to put hormones in my body. After much research into different hormonal methods and non hormonal methods to deal with my problem I found that the pill wasn't that big of a deal and wasn't all that risky. I have no family history of blood clots, don't smoke, have no history of ovarian cancer. I've been on the pill for 10 years now and unless my endo magically stops hurting I'll be on the pill for ever I guess. Do some research at the library. Relying on what you read on the interment isn't always the best. Most of the things you find are either published by the drug companies or people who are absolutely opposed to the pill. You'll get more factual info if you use medical journals to do your investigating.

3rd on Paraguard Copper IUD. I've had mine for 8 years now. Dyreka & Jade explained all the basics, so I won't add.

Condoms!!!

Yeah, I'm not so into the "natural" methods because pregnancy is "natural" too...and because of my medical history, I don't want to take the pill anymore and don't love the idea of the IUD...we use condoms and although my husband isn't a fan, until we're sure we are done having kids and he then gets a vasectomy, it's our birth control!

Good luck!
-M

Scehdule a consultation with your OB/Gyn and discuss the pros and cons of each type of contraception. Then you will be able to make an informed decision based on facts and your own medical history.

Read the book Your Fertility Signals for more info on natural methods.

If you don't want hormonal side effects you are left with barrier methods--diaphragm, condom, spermicides.

Good luck!

K. Z.

we use condoms.

and you are right, everyone I know that uses the natural method has had at least "one" accidents.

condoms. I had depression issues and skin issues with all different bc pills. All hormones were out of the equasion for me after a few years of horrible experiences. I'm not willing to go implant routes, either, as the long term safety of these things are not known. I would have considered a non-hormonal IUD, I guess. I got pregnant on the natural planning method so I know that didn't work. He didn't even, um, finish in me. It was like one of those things they warn you about in your 9th grade health class. :)

That all leaves condoms. And after the birth of my "natural planning love child" my husband had a vasectomy. I was certain that I was done with my childbearing years. I love the vasectomy.

Read the book Taking Control of Your Fertility and then jump on tcoyf.com. Join the forum and let other moms help you get the hang of it. I did it successfully to avoid pregnancy and now I'm using it to get pregnant. Super easy. You will feel so good about yourself and your body after reading it. It's very impowering! I wish I had read it years ago when I first got my period. It took the mystery out of being a woman and put the power in my hands. It looks like a text book, but it reads very easily. I read it all in one night. Great read! Highly recommend it. All the other books just sound silly after you read this one.

Oh, and I had bad side effects from the pill too. :(

We used condoms between our children. I didn't want the pill and witnessed a IUD horror story when I was a teen, so wasn't going there.

Good luck!

Just a caution if you are thinking about an IUD...

I got the mirena iud 6 weeks after i gave birth. insertion was fine, and everything was fine at first.
i had it for pretty much exactly a year.

I got extremely weird symptoms and thought i was going crazy! My weight wouldn't budge! i was up every morning at 5:30 at the gym before my husband went to work, eating right, taking great care of myself, on herbalife, and seriously, i might have lost 2 lbs in 6 months. i thought something was wrong with me.
i became depressed and very emotional. i thought maybe baby blues, but it wasn't.

edit: i forgot one major symptom - my periods lasted for 2 weeks! sometimes a bit longer. so for half the month, i was bleeding! it was terrible.

finally i searched online about the mirena and found out that tons of other women experienced the same thing. i got it taken out immediately, which was easy and painless. all of my symptoms left within a week! and i started to lose weight finally.

so, i'm not saying that this happens to every woman. it's just like other birth controls, they are different for everyone.

but i am saying that if you decide to go that route, and you end up experiencing anything like what i explained, or symptoms that are abnormal for you, you're not going crazy!

i am currently on the pill, and i love it! i feel stabalized, my periods are lighter and i don't get pms. but if you don't like the idea of taking a pill everyday, then it might not be for you.

good luck on your search!

The easiest for me was the cervical cap, second easiest was the diaphragm. Both worked well for me, but I preferred the cervical cap because you can put it in way ahead of time and there was less sensation for my partner. LL